Methylcotol News

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 2, 2017 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday expanded approval for the anti-cancer drug Imbruvica (ibrutinib) to include adults with chronic graft versus host disease (cGVHD). cGVHD is a deadly condition that affects up to 70 percent of people who receive a stem cell transplant to treat cancers of the blood or bone marrow, the FDA said in a news release. The condition occurs when the transplanted cells attack healthy cells in a patient's tissues. "This approval highlights how a known treatment for cancer is finding a new use in treating a serious and life-threatening condition that may occur in patients with blood cancer who receive a stem cell transplant," said Dr. Richard Pazdur, director of the FDA's Oncology Center of Excellence. Use of Imbruvica to treat cGVHD was studied in a clinical trial of 42 people whose symptoms lingered despite standard ... Read more

TUESDAY, Aug. 1, 2017 – A drug used for some cases of kidney disease can raise the risk of serious infections, researchers say. A clinical trial was stopped early when researchers discovered that patients on the drug – a corticosteroid called methylprednisolone – suffered a concerning number of serious side effects. Most often, that meant severe infections, including pneumonia and meningitis. Overall, nearly 15 percent of patients on the drug had a serious "adverse event" over two years, the investigators found. That compared with 3 percent of patients given placebo pills, the researchers reported. The study focused on patients with a form of kidney disease called immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy. It arises when IgA – an immune system protein – builds up in the kidneys, leading to inflammation. Methylprednisolone and other corticosteroids suppress the immune system and quell ... Read more

THURSDAY, June 29, 2017 – Researchers say they've come closer to pinpointing genes linked with inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's and ulcerative colitis. For the study, the investigators examined the genomes of nearly 68,000 people. Of the regions of the genome associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), 18 could be traced to a single genetic variant with more than 95 percent certainty. "We have taken the biggest ever data set for IBD and applied careful statistics to narrow down to the individual genetic variants involved," said study co-author Dr. Jeffrey Barrett, from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in the United Kingdom. "Now we have a clearer picture of which genes do and do not play a role in the disease. We are zooming in on the genetic culprits of IBD," he said in an institute news release. The findings could lead to improved effectiveness of current ... Read more

TUESDAY, May 16, 2017 – Steroid shots are a common treatment for arthritic knees. But, a new study says their long-term use is ineffective and may even reduce cartilage. Knee osteoarthritis patients who got steroid injections every three months for two years had no less pain than those taking a placebo treatment. And they had greater loss of cartilage, the rubbery tissue that acts as a cushion between the bones of joints, researchers found. "This research will change how I talk to patients," said Dr. Seth Leopold, a professor of orthopedics and sports medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine. "I will tell patients that the best information we now have suggests that these injections may not help, and extended use may thin your cartilage," said Leopold, who wasn't involved in the study. "We should only try them in someone who doesn't have alternatives, and we should ... Read more

TUESDAY, April 18, 2017 – Researchers seeking new sore throat treatments report only modest success with a single dose of a steroid medication. Concerns about growing bacterial resistance to antibiotics have led scientists to look for alternative therapies for sore throat, a common reason for doctor visits. In this new British study, a steroid medication led to improvement in about one-third of patients with sore throat. But, two U.S. physicians said they aren't rushing to prescribe the drugs on the basis of these results. Steroid treatment "might mask a more serious problem. That's really pretty important," said Dr. Robert Centor, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "Most sore throats are relatively simple, but some are relatively dangerous, and people can die or end up in the ICU," said Centor, who wasn't involved in the study. "Steroids could ... Read more

MONDAY, March 20, 2017 – Chronic lower back pain affects millions of Americans. Many try steroid injections to ease their discomfort, but researchers now say this remedy provides only short-term relief. In their study, investigators from France focused on 135 patients with back pain seemingly caused by inflammation between the discs and bones (vertebrae) in the lower spine. The researchers found that a single steroid injection eased pain for one month. After that, however, effectiveness waned. Virtually no difference was seen one year after treatment between patients who did or didn't get the injection. "Our results do not support the wide use of an injection of glucocorticoid in alleviating symptoms in the long term in this condition," said lead researcher Dr. Christelle Nguyen. The findings are consistent with earlier studies, said Nguyen, an assistant professor of physical medicine ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 7, 2016 – People with chronic eye inflammation known as uveitis may be able to keep the condition at bay with the immune-suppressing drug Humira (adalimumab), a new study finds. "Humira doesn't cure uveitis, but it does cause it to become quiet," said lead researcher Dr. Glenn Jaffe. He's a professor of ophthalmology at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C., and a consultant for Humira's maker, AbbVie. "The hope is while the disease is in a quiet state, the disease activity just burns itself out – but it can also come back," he said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Humira for the treatment of uveitis in June. The results of the study were published Sept. 8 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study was funded by AbbVie. Uveitis – a term used to describe a group of inflammatory diseases inside the eye – can cause loss of vision and ... Read more

THURSDAY, June 9, 2016 – People who use powerful drugs called systemic glucocorticoids are at higher risk for life-threatening staph blood infections, a new study finds. The findings are "a reminder for clinicians to weigh carefully the elevated risk against the potential beneficial effect of glucocorticoid therapy," said study lead author Dr. Jesper Smit, of Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark. "This is especially pertinent in patients who are already vulnerable to infection," he added. Glucocorticoids – a form of steroids – are powerful immunosuppressive drugs used to treat a variety of medical conditions that involve inflammation. The drugs are "given by mouth or by injection, are anti-inflammatory, and can suppress the immune system," explained one U.S. expert, Dr. Gerald Bernstein. "Usually, short-term use in otherwise healthy people does not cause a problem, but long term ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, March 2, 2016 – Patients who've received a steroid injection for hip pain should wait at least three months before having hip replacement surgery, a new study suggests. "The risk of developing an infection after surgery increased significantly in patients who had a hip replacement within three months of receiving a steroid injection," study author Dr. William Schairer, from the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, said in a hospital news release. "However, in patients who had a steroid injection and then waited three months or longer to have the surgery, there was no increased risk at all." Steroid injections are widely used to ease pain and inflammation associated with arthritis. These injections can weaken the immune system, which could increase infection risk, the researchers explained. "Hip replacement is a common and safe procedure that relieves pain and ... Read more

TUESDAY, Nov. 10, 2015 – Millions of aging Americans are plagued by arthritic knees, and two new studies offer insight into what might – or might not – help curb the condition. Both studies were presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology's annual meeting in San Francisco. One study found that a popular therapy, steroid drug injections, do nothing to slow progression of osteoarthritis in the knee. This type of treatment is common, but has never been specifically tested, and there are concerns about its safety, according to a team led by Dr. Tim McAlindon, chief of rheumatology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. His team tracked outcomes for 140 people – mainly overweight white women – with knee arthritis who averaged 58 years of age. The patients received either injections of the steroid triamcinolone hexacetonide, or placebo injections of saline, every three months ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 14, 2015 – Current therapies for children with Crohn's disease don't fully restore healthy bacteria and fungi populations in their digestive systems, a new study shows. These findings suggest that treatments don't have to bring bacteria and other microbe levels back to normal levels in the gut to be useful. This knowledge could lead to new approaches for diagnosing and treating inflammatory bowel disease, according to the Oct. 14 study in the journal Cell Host & Microbe. "We show that microbes in the gut respond to treatment of inflammatory bowel disease in a much more complex way than has been previously appreciated," co-principal investigator Gary Wu, from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, said in a journal news release. "The results of our study provide information that could be used to track or predict disease, as well as new diet-based therapeutic ... Read more

THURSDAY, Oct. 1, 2015 – Most people with tennis elbow recover without physical therapy and steroid injections, according to a study by researchers in Norway. "I'm not surprised because that's really been the classic teaching," said Dr. Joshua Dines, an orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. "The number that's often cited is that 90 percent of tennis elbow, golfer's elbow, will get better by the end of the year no matter what you do." Study first author Dr. Morten Olaussen, a specialist in family medicine at the University of Oslo, agreed that the finding was expected. But, he added, "it is interesting to note that after one year, as much as one-third of the patients still reported considerable discomfort." What was surprising, said Olaussen, was that physical therapy was not effective. "It has been shown to be effective in earlier research but then on ... Read more

MONDAY, Aug. 24, 2015 – Steroid injections for lower back pain may provide some relief for certain patients, but any benefits are temporary, a new study finds. Lower back pain related to herniated disk (when intervertebral disks become compressed and bulge) and, to a lesser degree, spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal), is often treated with epidural steroid injections, the researchers said. But after reviewing 38 previously published studies, the researchers found no strong evidence to support their use for these conditions. "These injections may not be as effective as perceived, and decisions should be based on an informed discussion of risks, benefits, and potential options, including surgery, medications and nonpharmacological options like exercise therapy," said lead researcher Dr. Roger Chou, a professor of medicine at the Oregon Health & Science University. Chou said ... Read more

MONDAY, Aug. 10, 2015 – Steroid treatment may hasten pneumonia patients' recovery and cut their risk of complications, a new review suggests. The findings "should lead to an important change in treatment for pneumonia," lead author Dr. Reed Siemieniuk, a physician and graduate student at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, said in a university news release. "Corticosteroids are inexpensive and readily available around the world. Millions of patients will benefit from this new evidence," he said. But one expert said a bit more research may be needed first. "With such modest – though measurable – effects of treatment, a large multi-center randomized clinical trial," would still be necessary to confirm the new findings and "perhaps justify a change in the standard of care," said Dr. Bruce Polsky. He is chair of the department of medicine at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola, ... Read more

TUESDAY, May 19, 2015 – Doctors often prescribe steroid pills to ease the discomfort of sciatica – back and leg pain usually caused by a herniated disk in the lower back. But a new study finds steroids are no more effective than a placebo pill for the pain and provide only modest improvement in function. Sciatica affects about one in 10 people in their lifetime, the researchers said. For this study, 269 people with sciatica were randomly assigned to take an oral steroid (prednisone) or a placebo (a dummy medication) for 15 days. The participants were followed for up to a year. "When we compared the prednisone to placebo, there was a modest improvement in function," said study researcher Dr. Harley Goldberg, director of spine care services at Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center in California. People reported they could go about their daily activities somewhat better than before. ... Read more